Chapter 32 – Jesse Flynn
When Jesse thought he was at the top of his career covering the Selection which came around only once a generation, he was not entirely right. Covering the National Day Ball during the Selection and organized by two of the Selected was even higher on that list, bringing him even higher. And he couldn't even start thinking of the three weddings (?) that would take place soon. If Queen Helena asked him exclusively to cover those too, he could die happy.
Right now, he, alongside Sydney and Otis, was working 200% of their time on the Ball, trying to take pictures of everything, filming as much as they could, and interviewing as many guests as possible. Jesse still tried to keep an eye on the Princes because it was still the Selection, so he had his hands full.
The guests were boarding the ship, showing their RSVP cards to two of the Selected – Jenissa and Pallas – who let them inside. The giant yacht was filling up slowly but steadily and footmen were already walking around guests with silver trays filled with red, white, and blue themed amuses-bouche and drinks. The ceiling of the ballroom on the top floor of the yacht was decorated with a nighttime sky and the tiny Swarovski stars shined and scintillated above everyone. Truly, the Yacht was more a cruise ship than anything else, but Jesse couldn't complain: nothing in his previous life could have put him on such a boat, before. But he could get used to this kind of life. Who wouldn't, really?
It was a good thing he had seen the Selected's outfits beforehand because with all these masks, it was hard to tell the people apart. Just around a corner, he bumped into Abigail Correll, one of the two party-organizers, behind a golden mask and wearing a completely red outfit – she was clearly here for Nathan.
"Abigail!" Jesse said. "How's everything going?"
"All right," Gail replied, a little distracted. "Have you seen Leigh? I've been looking all over for her."
"Uh no, but if I see her, I'll tell her you're looking for her…"
"Yeah okay thanks," she said, continuing on her way. Jesse also noticed she had a tablet in her hands, to keep up with everything. If this party went well, both Leigh and Gail would have really high scores in the Selection – in the public and princely votes – because this was not an easy feat.
He continued on his way as well and saw guests talking with the Selected, but Leigh was nowhere to be seen. He asked here and there discreetly if the girls had seen Leigh, but no one had seen her, not even Ximena or the group of girls she usually hung out with. He went back to the two Selected welcoming the guests. Jenissa was wearing a blue and red see-through dress with flowers embroidered on it and a large red belt, blue shoes with bows at the heels, and a red lace mask. Pallas was also wearing red, but she had paired it with white.
"Jen, is everyone here?" he asked.
She looked at the list on her tablet. "Yes, everyone but the Royal family. They should be arriving shortly…" she trailed off as a white limousine parked on the deck. "Here they are."
"What about Leigh? Did you see her?" he asked.
"Leigh? Isn't she with Gail? We all came together…" Pallas said.
"Well, it seems no one has seen her, and Gail has been looking for her all over the place," Jesse explained.
Pallas looked at the Royal family coming up the walkway to the ship. "Uhm," she said, pointing discreetly at them. Jenissa and Jesse looked, too: there was the Queen, her husband, and her mother, and behind them were Nevaeh walking in between Nathan in a dark red suit and Valerian in a white one, and at the back, bringing up the rear was Silas in a navy-blue outfit and mask, and at his arm was none other than Leigh Altman, wearing a shiny blue gown with a lacy navy-blue mask as well.
Jesse and the two other Selected watched in shock at the procession. What was Leigh doing with the royal family? She was supposed to be here hours ago. She nodded at Jesse and walked past, her head high. Jen, Pallas, and Jesse followed them to hear the welcoming speech of the queen – or was it Silas? – in the ballroom.
Leigh grabbed a glass of Champagne on a passing tray and tapped her bracelet on it, grabbing everyone's attention. "Ladies and Gentlemen," she said high and clear, "please welcome the Royal Family." She paused and stepped aside, presenting graciously with her extended arm each member as she introduced them, all wearing masks. "Her Majesty, Queen Helena Schreave, His Royal Highness, Prince Tobias Schreave-Miller, Their Royal Highnesses, Prince Silas Schreave, Prince Nathan Schreave, and Prince Valerian Schreave, and Her Grace, the Duchess Nevaeh de Montignac!"
All the guests erupted in polite applause and the queen stepped forward.
"Good evening Illéa," she said. Otis was filming her from the center of the crowd and it would be retransmitted in a future edit of the party. "Tonight is a very special evening, organized by two very talented Selected: Miss Abigail Correll and Miss Leigh Altman!" She clapped politely and the crowd followed. Jesse noticed Gail had stepped closer to the staircase leading down into the ballroom. "It is also a special night: yes, like every other year, we celebrate Illéa's independence and freedom, but we are also in the midst of my sons' Selection and so we celebrate more than one event tonight." She paused. "Please enjoy yourself and following the organizers' wish, please do not remove your masks just yet."
The guests applauded and the queen stepped down into the ballroom with her husband, where she opened the dance with him, followed closely by her sons and their first dance: Silas with Leigh, Nathan with Abigail, and Valerian with Malia who was dressed in a white and blue tulle dress, though she had been eliminated from Silas' list on the last Report… Huh. Interesting.
After that, the people joined in as well with their own partners, and the Selected all found a partner in the masked guests. Jesse tried to keep track of who danced with who but the masks really weren't helping his job in the slightest.
"Aren't you dancing?"
He turned his head to see a woman in a mauve dress and recognized her instantly. "Nevaeh, good evening to you, too," he said. "No, I'm not dancing but I'm trying to figure out who is who."
"Well, since you know who I am, why don't we dance?"
Jesse wasn't sure he had heard correctly. "You are asking me to dance?"
"Yes," she said. "But answer quickly before I change my mind…"
"Yes! Yes, yes, yes," he said. He put his tablet into his breast pocket and invited Nevaeh on the dance floor. They danced for a bit, not talking. "You look amazing," he finally blurted out. "Purple suits you." She was also wearing a simple white mask and her hair was done in a low side bun. Nevaeh de Montignac was very fashionable – as always – and Jesse could have stared at her all night.
"Thank you." She paused. "You cleaned up nicely yourself. Wherever did you find lilac flowers at this time of year, though?" she asked, eyeing his boutonnière.
"I have my ways," he replied mysteriously. The lilac stood out brilliantly on his all-black outfit and he was glad of the choice. "Can I ask you something?"
"Of course."
"What was Leigh Altman doing with the Royal family? Wasn't she supposed to have come with all the others?"
"That's a very good question I don't know the answer to, unfortunately," she said. "I don't know if it was Silas or Auntie Lena who wanted one of the organizers to arrive with them."
"Huh. Okay."
The music slowly came to an end and Jesse thanked Nevaeh for the dance. She nodded curtly at him before walking away to chat with people Jesse didn't even know.
The hours ticked away, food and drinks were passed around, and Jesse tried to find as much tea as he could. He did feel like a bloodhound at that moment but he didn't care the slightest. He was a journalist first and foremost, and then a reporter. He needed things to report. As the drinks took effect on the people, Jesse noticed the guests and the Selected relaxing more and more.
Valerian danced with all the Selected wearing some white, and when he danced with the girls wearing only white – which were Ashia, Odessa, Dyani, and Evangeline – they looked like a wedding couple dancing their first dance. Jesse hoped one of these four would win the young prince's heart and that he could use Otis' footage of one of these dances for the final story.
Nathan danced with everyone, but mostly the ones wearing red, and Jesse noticed he slipped away a couple of times, presumably to the rooms in the lower parts of the ship. Not surprising, but Jesse should have kept track of the girls going down with him. But keeping track of seventeen girls among more than two hundred guests was hard.
Silas? Well, Silas seemed to stay on the side of the ballroom, chatting with people – was that Ezra Watanabe? Jesse had completely missed the Watanabe family! – and sipping on a glass of red wine that always seemed to be full. After his dance with Leigh, Silas didn't dance with anyone, but Jesse noticed Ximena was hovering near him most of the time, also sipping on some wine and chatting absentmindedly with some of the other girls. Her gaze always seemed to linger on the Crown Prince, and his on her. She turned around to talk to someone and Jesse noticed something really interesting: Where Leigh was wearing red rose accessories to match Silas' red rose during the Selection, Ximena was wearing tiny blue flowers in her long brown hair done in a half updo. They seemed to be very close to the ones Silas was wearing his in boutonnière... Interesting…
Jesse wanted to be sure about it, so he joined Ximena. "Hi," he said.
"Hello, Jesse." Ximena seemed relaxed – the wine? – but still a tiny bit wary of Jesse and his questions.
"I noticed the blue flowers in your hair. What are they called?"
"They're blue Hydrangeas," she replied.
"Are they the same as the one Silas is wearing?"
Ximena's cheeks turned a little pink but in doubt, Jesse put that on the wine and the heat inside the boat. "Yes." She paused, deciding if she was going to explain more, and she did. "He sent them in a small box to my room this afternoon, asking me to wear his flower for the night."
"Not a red rose?"
"No, red is Nathan's color tonight." She sipped on the wine.
"And did he say anything else? Like why he wanted you to wear these? Because he didn't say the same to Leigh: she's wearing red rose earrings…"
"Really?" Ximena said, perking up at that. "That's good to know."
Uh-oh, Jesse thought. Drama. He chatted a little more with the Brazilian girl and then was on his way. Some twenty minutes before midnight, Gail and Leigh demanded everyone's attention and invited the guests to step outside, on the deck of the Yacht. Everyone went outside and from the corner of his eyes, Jesse saw Silas join Ximena, slip his hand in hers, and whisper something in her ear, to which she smiled and nodded. Damn. Jesse wanted to be a fly right now so he could go spy on them undetected. He kept the Prince in his view and followed the flow of people outside.
The Queen was standing on the roof part of the Yacht, next to the helipad – where there was no helicopter at the present – and waited for everyone to be out. The murmurs around the crowd died down and all eyes were on the queen. By then, it was five minutes before midnight. Nice timing, Jesse thought, impressed by Gail and Leigh
"On this day, two-hundred-and-fifty years ago," she started, "Gregory Illéa took power over the Chinese invaders and liberated the country. Since then, we have been through ups and downs, revolutions, and recessions marking our history.
"Sixty-eight years ago, King Maxon abolished the castes and started a new Illéa. Every year since then we remember him. We remember that we have become a better country. A better past, and a better future."
The queen took off her mask. "Today, we are free from what held us back. We are free from the shackles of what we thought great. We are free from hiding behind unnecessary bonds." She paused. "We are free!" she lifted her mask in the air just as the fireworks exploded behind her in the sky. All the Selected guided by Gail and Leigh took their masks off, followed by all the guests. Cheers and applause rose from everywhere on the yacht and the people watched as the red, blue, and white fireworks illuminated the sky and everyone's faces.
Jesse watched only for a minute because he knew he would miss other things going on among the guests, Selected, and Princes. And what a damn good idea it was: to his left, some distance away against the railing, the Crown Prince was kissing a girl in a shiny blue dress, her arms looped around his shoulders, holding her mask with just a blue-nailed finger. And to Jesse's right, another girl in a shiny blue dress, looking at the couple with an expression of hurt on her face. Jesse felt bad for her, but that was the game. Several players, only one winner. Well, two or three in this particular Selection, but one per prince.
The girl watching stayed there a minute more before walking away. Was she crying? Oh no… Jesse wanted to run after her, but the festivities were not done. The music started again with everyone still outside, and pairs formed to dance.
At some point, Jesse saw Valerian dancing with a girl completely in white – was that Odessa? Yes, it was – with eyes only for his partner, chatting softly. Nathan was quite drunk and dancing ridiculous dances with Jenissa, Morrigan, Gail, and Pallas. An hour later, around 1:30 a.m., the helicopter landed on the helipad and took the queen's mother away, followed an hour later by the queen and her husband. After that, smaller boats were called to bring the guests back to the shore where their chauffeurs were waiting for them.
Jesse stayed on the yacht until the end, barely capable of keeping his eyes open. He wandered here and there, looking for something interesting, but most of what happened after the first guests left happened in the bedrooms, in the lower levels. And he honestly didn't want to know the details – though knowing who was with who would have been quite interesting to know…
On his rounds, he noticed Silas had not gone to a bedroom but had stayed in one of the small empty lounges with the girl he had kissed, talking late into the night and all through the morning. In another lounge, there were groups of girls, and one with Valerian in the middle – the girls with him were all wearing all-white – and Nathan was, to no surprise, nowhere to be seen…
The sun was rising over the land, in the distance, and he saw a lonely girl smoking a cigarette in a blue dress, the one that had cried earlier. She was leaning against the railing at the prow of the ship, her lacey blue mask hanging at her wrist.
"Hi," Jesse said softly. "Are you okay?"
The girl looked at him and nodded. "Yeah."
"It was a nice party. Congratulations, by the way."
"Thank you," she replied. "Gail did a lot." She snorted and Jesse felt that she was about to cry again. But she composed herself. "I suck at organizing people and stuff," she simply said. "I would be a shitty queen anyway. Gail, though? I'd put my money on her."
Jesse didn't know what to say to that. Should he try to comfort her? Or just let her be?
"You know why I had so many boyfriends in the past?" she asked and continued without waiting for Jesse to answer. "My mother's affair made me stop believing in love and marriage." She paused and Jesse nodded, understanding. He thought it would be rude to film or record her, so he tried to listen intently to remember everything. "I've always been jumping from one guy to the next, seeking love and affection and as soon as it was getting a little too deep, I fled. Every. Single. Time." She paused again, searching for her words. She didn't seem drunk, but she didn't seem completely sober either.
"What happened?" Jesse asked, prompting her to continue.
"The Selection happened. Silas happened. And I have no idea how it happened, but I just fell in love when I thought I would never." She paused, looking at the water below them. "My mom made me put my name in the lottery and I was happy to just escape my family, you know?" she looked at Jesse, who nodded. "But then I found a family here. Laelia, Brandy, and yes, even her… they're all my friends. And we've been through a lot together. But then there had to be Silas in the midst of all that, and I don't know what's going to happen," she continued, now unable to stop talking. "Our last date at the Niagara Falls was amazing and all, but from what I've seen tonight, I don't have a fucking chance!"
Now there was a tear streaming down her cheek and she wiped at it angrily. She took a deep breath and let it out slowly. She took a puff of her cigarette before tapping the remaining ashes on the railing. They flew into the sea.
"Sorry," she said after composing herself again. "I guess it just needed to come out." She chuckled sadly but kept her eyes on the approaching land. "Please don't tell anyone what I told you," she added, looking at him. "At least not until the end of Selection. You're probably going to do a best-of, keep that for that. Okay?"
Jesse nodded. "What do you think will happen now?" he asked, eager for more of the juicy information he was safely tucking away for later. "Do you really love him?"
She girl didn't reply right away. "Yes, and I don't know if I'll ever stop."
The land was coming closer and closer and the remaining people were slowly coming out of their early-morning daze, ready to disembark and go home. But Jesse was not done yet, and neither were the Selected: there was a Report to go to and conduct. Hopefully, Otis had already done a good part of the editing for later in the evening.
"Anyways," she said. "Thanks for the chat. And as I said, keep that to yourself." And before really walking away on Jesse, she added. "I'm a lawyer, and I could sue you for it." She flashed him a smile and joined a group of Selected on the deck as if nothing had happened.
-o-0-o-
The two limousines that were waiting for the Selected and Jesse headed directly to the studio for an early start. It was only 8:00 a.m. when they arrived there and a small breakfast buffet had been set up backstage with croissants, tea, coffee, and some other things. The girls would all still be dressed in their party clothes so the public could see who was fighting for which prince, which, Jesse knew, would maybe sway the polls and the public opinion.
At 8:30, half an hour earlier than usual and so they could finish sooner and the girls could go sleep if they wanted to, Jesse boomed out his famous introduction sentence.
"Goodmorningladiesandgent– Oops, I have to do that again," he said chuckling. "Sorry about that."
In his rush to get the long word out, he had said good morning, instead of good evening. Oh, well, it happened to the best, too. Jesse went backstage again and came back a few seconds later.
"Goodeveningladiesandgentlemenboysandgirls! My name is Jesse Flynn, and we are here after a very special event! I know every Illéan citizen celebrated last night the 250th anniversary of our freedom! I hope you had fun because I know we did." He wiggled his eyebrows and invited the three princes dressed in blue, red, and white to join him on the comfy couches. "Gentlemen," he started. "How was the party, last night?"
"Oh, my God, Jesse, it was amazing," Nathan replied without even allowing his brothers to answer. "The girls were beautiful" – he looked over his shoulder at the group of girls wearing their colors – "the food was great, and the sex as well."
Jesse coughed, almost choking, and Valerian patted his back, trying to help.
"You okay, man?"
"Yeah, yeah, I'm okay…" he coughed once more and then burst out laughing. From the corner of his eye, he noticed some of the girls were blushing furiously, others were laughing, and some others were simply facepalming at Nathan's boldness. Though, by now, everyone should be used to it… "I see," he said. "Valerian?"
"I think Leigh and Abigail did an amazing job on the whole party, I mean," he said, shifting on his seat, "they both had different ideas, and they had to smash everything together, but it turned out even more amazing. Honestly, I'd recommend them for any party planning."
Jesse chuckled. "I agree with you, Your Highness." He smiled at the soft prince. "I saw you dancing with all the girls wearing some white, but mostly with those wearing only white…"
"Yeah," Val said, blushing slightly. "I mean, everyone looked so beautiful, and the color matching idea was really interesting because it also made clear who was really into us, you know? Like some are either still making up their mind or they don't care, but those who were wearing only one color really showed, well, their colors!" He laughed at his own joke. "And, personally, I think it really helps also for us to decide, you know?"
Jesse nodded. He had thought as much. "Okay, so if we make a list of the girls' colors, it would go like this…" he turned around as three columns appeared on the screen behind them. "Dressed in all-blue, we have Leigh and Ximena, which was not a surprise. In all-red, we have Morrigan, Emelda, Brandy, and Abigail." He paused as the names were added to each list. "And all-white, we have Odessa, Ashia, Dyani, and Evangeline." He looked at the princes who nodded.
"But then there were the mixed colors," Nathan said, "and that's when things get complicated."
"Yes," Jesse agreed. "Now there was one wearing all three colors, and that was Veronica." He paused and looked at the girl in question. "Either you're not decided, or you don't care."
"Or maybe she would have worn Doug's colors," Nathan said, teasing her and winking, to which Veronica laughed.
"I should have thought of that!" she said, and everyone laughed.
"Then we have one who was wearing white and blue, and that was Malia in a magnificent light blue tulle dress," Jesse said. "I wish I could ask the Duchess de Montignac her opinion on the dresses, but I'm afraid we won't have time for that this evening." He paused. "We have also one red and blue combination, and that is Jenissa. I honestly would want to know who she favored between Nathan and Silas, but I think she has two red and two oranges roses to show for…" he paused, grinning. "I guess we'll have to wait and see how that turns out, yeah?"
"Me obviously," Nathan said. "Because our dates were 110% better than her playing music with Silas. I mean, where's the fun in that?"
Silas chuckled softly, and Jesse realized that Silas still hadn't pipped a word since the beginning of the Report.
"Something to say, Your Highness?" he asked the Crown Prince.
"I don't think one can compare music to sex," he blurted out, surprising everyone and even himself, which made him turn a dark shade of pink.
"On the contrary," Jenissa said, from the midst of the group of girls. "Both are pretty awesome."
Jesse and Valerian shared a look before bursting into laughter, followed by most of the girls. Only Nathan and Silas looked at each other with a weird look, but it quickly passed. Jesse wondered if Nathan had ever tried music and if Silas had ever, well, done it…
"Right!" Jesse said, gaining control of the Report once more. "The last group of color was a mix of red and white – and even pink for Mia – and the rest of the girls wore that: Laelia, Pallas, and Phoebe."
Jesse knew that in the final edit of the Report retransmitted that evening, Otis would add each girl as she was mentioned, showing the people her colors and her outfit. He was also pretty sure that more than one fashion magazine would make a top and flop list of those outfits, just for fun.
"Prince Silas," Jesse said. "Would you like to say something about last night's party?" He paused. "You were seen arriving at the location with Leigh. Did you choose that?"
"No," he said. "My mother thought it would be good to have one of the organizers to arrive with us." He paused. "It was a last-minute decision."
"I see." Jesse wanted to broach the subject about Ximena and Leigh with him, but he thought it was maybe too soon and he didn't want the prince to clam up just yet since he seemed to be keen on making some reasonable-length sentences. He also knew that he didn't need to talk too much right now because there would be lots of added footage of the party to fill in the blanks, later.
"All right," Jesse said, continuing. "I think it's time for the black roses." The boys agreed and went to give out their roses: none of the eliminated went home since they were all on at least two lists. Silas eliminated Odessa who was wearing all white, Nathan eliminated Dyani also wearing all white, and Valerian eliminated Laelia, who was wearing red and white. Though they had gone on a date recently, he said that he just wanted to stay friends with her, and promised her to buy and read her next book. Jesse concluded the Report with his usual ending words and the whole group of girls went back to the Palace with Nevaeh and the Princes.
-o-0-o-
Most of the girls went to bed on Saturday afternoon, having been up since early the previous morning to get the whole party ready. They were exhausted and so was Jesse. But until the Report was retransmitted, he would not rest. He was stuck in the office with Otis and Sydney and all three were using only coffee and energy drinks to get through the day. A nice maid brought them some lunch and some snacks as well, and Jesse was ever so grateful because he would have forgotten to eat.
The only problem was that being locked up in that office to finish everything in time, all three of them missed what happened outside their bubble… and only learned afterward what had happened:
Nathan and Roni went on a date where Roni tried to teach Nathan how to draw and to indulge him, they drew Star Wars characters. They drew Luke, Leia, Rey, Han Solo, and others in Roni's style, and Nathan said he was going to keep those drawings in his personal Star Wars collection, of which he was very mysterious about when Roni asked him more about it.
Valerian and Ashia also spent some time together at the beach, just the two of them, for a picnic and came back when the sun had set and the chillier air of the evening had settled over Los Angeles.
But what everyone completely missed, was what transpired in the library, during the afternoon.
-.-
Silas hadn't slept at all during the party, preferring to spend his time with Ximena. But he had also noticed Leigh, at some point, and he had honestly not known what to do. Invite her along? No, that would have been more than awkward…
Like everyone after the Report, he had gone to bed, trying to get some hours of sleep, but after an hour or two of restful sleep where he tossed and turned and felt like he was waking up every ten minutes, he took a shower, got dressed in one of his familiar suits, and headed down to his office. He was behind on some work, and what better time than now, when everyone was sleeping? The palace was silent, and he was blissfully alone.
He went to the Nespresso coffee machine in his office and made himself the blackest, most bitter coffee, no sugar, and no cream, and sat down. There was a rather untidy pile of papers on his left, but otherwise, his desk was pristine with all the pens and stuff perfectly aligned and in their proper place.
Silas rubbed his face hard, waiting for the coffee to kick in, then he took the pile of papers and went over the various reports his mother needed him to go over. Budgets, news from some provinces, trade updates with their allies, and some other things. He picked a paper on a new law the queen wanted to pass in Illéa, but Silas wasn't sure about it. He needed the opinion of an expert, and the best for that was Leigh.
He had already talked about it with her, on their date to Waverly, saying that he would need her help on something, without being too specific. Well, now was the time. He slipped the paper in a plastic folder and headed out. maybe with some luck he would bump into her…
Silas wandered around the Palace for the good part of an hour but unfortunately, there was no one. Well, no one that he was interested in talking to. Should he text her? No. if she was sleeping, he wanted to let her sleep. She had worked extra hard on that party, she deserved her rest.
So, Silas decided to go back to his office to work on something else while he waited to talk with Leigh. But when he rounded the corner at the bottom of the stairs, he bumped into someone.
"Silas!" It was Leigh, wearing very casual sweatpants and a t-shirt, her hair in a messy bun on the top of her head, and her pillow imprinted on her cheek. "I'm so sorry," she said. "Did I hurt you?"
"No," he chuckled. "Did I hurt you?"
"No." Despite herself, she smiled at the man in front of her.
"You know, it's good that I bumped into you – literally – because I had something I wanted to discuss with you," he said not beating around the bush whatsoever.
"Oh!" she said, suddenly feeling very warm. She knew this conversation could go both ways: either he was telling her he was eliminating her, or he was going to tell her he lo– No. that was not possible. Leigh mentally kicked herself and smiled. "Uhm, sure. Let me just go change…"
"I don't mind," he said. "It looks comfortable."
Leigh blushed but quickly composed herself. What was wrong with her? "Okay. What did you want to talk about?"
"Do you remember when I told you I would need some help with something regarding the law?" he asked.
"Yes." Oh, so that was what he wanted to talk about. "What about it?"
"Let's talk somewhere private," he said, though he knew not many people would be up. He also knew that the staff was not sleeping and he didn't necessarily want this information going around the palace before the queen said it could. But he didn't want her to come to his office: it was his privatest private place, and no one would go there until he said so. And now was not the time. "Let's go to the library," he suggested. "There should be some law books there if you need them."
Leigh nodded and she followed him there. He opened the door for her and followed her inside.
"Oh, wow… I didn't even know this place existed in the palace," she whispered, as everyone should do in a library. She looked all the way up to the ceiling where rows and rows of books were stacked. There must have been thousands of books! "How many books are there?" she asked, her voice full of wonder.
"I absolutely have no idea. All that I know is that the Royal Family has been collecting books for generations from the United States of America before it became Illéa. So there are a lot."
"Huh… it's like the library of Alexandria!"
Silas smiled. He had never thought of it like that. He headed towards a table and put his file on it then sat, waiting for Leigh who was still awed by the sheer grandeur of the place. She joined a minute later.
"So, what's the big deal?"
"You have to promise me not to tell anyone about this: we are still working on it. It's highly confidential." He paused. "But I trust you."
"Thank you," she replied. "And I promise I won't tell."
"Good." Silas handed her the paper and let her read the whole thing at her leisure. She asked a few things, having turned into a very professional Leigh, despite her outfit. Silas thought it was really endearing and he liked this new side of Leigh he didn't know yet. He didn't even realize he was staring at her, and when she looked up from her paper, their eyes met. Just a little too long.
"What…?" she asked softly.
"Nothing," he replied in a breath, pushing down the heat that had risen in his cheeks. "What do you think?" He motioned at the paper with his chin.
"Uh, yes, that." Leigh went on to tell him what she thought, and she asked him where the law books were in the library, which he showed her. She brought back three ginormous books and spread them on the table, flipping through the pages to look for something specific. While she was searching, she continued talking. Silas didn't understand most of what she said, only figuring it was about some very precise law. "Okay, I found it," she said, pointing at a line with her long manicured nail.
"Well?" he prompted.
Leigh went on to explain exactly what they could and could not do, and that what the queen wanted to do was not entirely legal. But Silas wasn't listening. This very professional version of Leigh was very intriguing and he was watching her closely.
"… and that's– Silas are you even listening?" she asked.
"Sorry, I wasn't…" he trailed off. "Please excuse what I'm about to do, but I need to know."
"What–" she started but was quickly cut off by Silas scooting nearer to her and kissing her. Like, for real this time. Not the little butterfly kiss she had attempted the other day. This was a real kiss. Only…
Silas and Leigh broke off the kiss at the same time and stared at each other, confused. Neither one spoke for a good minute, frozen.
Leigh pinched her lips together. "That was– that was like kissing my brother."
Silas let out a strangled laugh and sighed, relieved. "Thank God. I felt like I was kissing a cousin." He took a deep breath and let it out slowly then scooted his chair back to where it was before. "I'm terribly sorry," he said, not meeting her eyes. He linked his fingers together and looked at his hands.
"Hey," she said softly, putting a hand on his arm. "It's totally okay. I'm actually relieved," she said. She waited for Silas to say something, but he only nodded. "When I saw you with Ximena last night, I was… I don't know… sad? But I know now that we're not meant to be… right?"
Silas didn't know what to say. He really liked Leigh and he honestly counted her among his closest friends. "Maybe you're right."
"I know I'm right," she said. "When Xi talks about you, her eyes fill up with tiny heart. You have no idea how much she loves you, honestly." She chuckled softly and shook her head. "And I don't think you realize either how much you love her, too…"
Silas looked up and met her gaze. "I've never loved anyone before. So this is all new to me."
"I know." Leigh let go of his arm. "Look, I'll write down everything you need to know about that law with all the details, okay? I don't think you're in a state of mind to memorize any of it at the moment." She smiled softly, if not sadly, packed the three books, and was on her way.
As soon as she was out and the door was securely closed behind her with Silas still inside, Leigh's professionalism evaporated like smoke and a sob escaped her lips. She quickly smoldered it with her free hand and closed her eyes shut, two tears streamed down her cheeks. Of course, that kiss had been the best thing ever. Fireworks had exploded under her skin, and it had not felt like she was kissing her brother. But the man she loved. She had simply said that because that's what Silas needed to hear: he and Xi were a pair made in heaven and who was she to step in between them?
Besides, could she even love for real? How many boyfriends had she dumped because she was afraid to love too much? Or too deeply?
Leigh took a deep breath and went to her room as fast as she could, where she would be safe to cry in her pillow, alone, away from everyone.
Welp, the Ball happened, the Report happened, and then Leigh happened. I can't wait to see what you thought of this chapter!
don't forget to check the IG account, I'll be adding some Ball aesthetics, as well as all the outfits! it was so much much to do them! thanks for your participation!
oh, and I finished Nano, writing 50k on the 21st of november! I'm not stopping though, and I'm already 5 or 6 chapters ahead on this Story... :eyes:
anyhow, see you next week for a new chapter!
